A Newtown man faces federal charges of child pornography and enticement

NEWTOWN, CT — A federal grand jury has indicted a former Newtown resident on multiple child exploitation charges following a Homeland Security investigation, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Connecticut.

Donald S. Hammalian Jr., 50, was formally charged April 10 with four felony offenses: receipt of child pornography, coercion and enticement of a minor, transfer of obscene material to a minor, and committing a felony involving a minor while registered as a sex offender. He pleaded not guilty during a court appearance Friday before U.S. District Judge Robert A. Richardson in Hartford. Hammalian has been in custody since November 2023 for violating the terms of his supervised release.

Court documents indicate that Hammalian has a prior criminal record dating back to 2010, when he was sentenced in Florida to four years in prison and 20 years of supervised release for possessing child pornography. He later moved to Vermont, where he was sentenced again in 2018 to six years in prison for violating release conditions by possessing similar material. That sentence was reduced to time served during the COVID-19 pandemic, and Hammalian was released in 2020.

In November 2023, a search of Hammalian’s residence by U.S. Probation officers uncovered five unapproved internet-enabled devices. Two of the devices contained child sexual abuse material, according to investigators. Authorities also determined Hammalian was operating around a dozen social media accounts, had more than 100,000 followers, was communicating with minors, and sometimes posing as a 16-year-old boy.

Federal prosecutors say the criminal activity occurred between July 2022 and November 2023 and included both the receipt of child pornography and active solicitation of explicit content from minors. The receipt of child pornography charge carries a mandatory minimum of 15 years and up to 40 years in prison due to Hammalian’s prior offenses. The enticement charge carries a minimum of 10 years and a potential life sentence, while the transfer of obscene materials to a minor carries a maximum penalty of 10 years. Committing the offenses as a registered sex offender could result in a mandatory additional 10-year sentence.

Acting U.S. Attorney Marc H. Silverman emphasized that the charges are not evidence of guilt and that Hammalian is presumed innocent until proven otherwise in court.